The dead have risen

As Lee Everett sits handcuffed in the back of the police car on his way to jail, something doesn’t seem right. Above the small talk of the cop in the driving seat, more sirens – from the police, ambulances and fire engines – scream down the highway in the opposite direction, back towards the city. As the emergency calls come through on the radio, the cop takes his eye off the road for a split second – enough time to hit something… or someone – and crash into the surrounding woodland.

As Lee awakens, dazed and disorientated, it’s clear that he’s not alone. Shuffling, moaning figures emerge from the trees, with undead eyes fixed upon him and drooling, rotten mouths intent on delivering a deadly bite…

Now, in a deserted world overrun by the walking dead, you must guide Lee through a nightmarish vision of America – and make the impossible choices that will offer him a last chance of redemption in a world that’s gone to hell.

An undead world

Fans of the ongoing comic book saga The Walking Dead will instantly connect with the artistic style and characters within this PlayStation Vita adaptation, written to run in parallel with the comics’ storyline. As you guide Lee through the game’s deep and emotionally charged plot, you’ll discover a version of suburban America that’s been overrun by zombies – or Walkers, as the characters refer to them. Initially, you’ll find yourself in the town of Savannah, exploring abandoned family homes and deserted streets in search of clues to what has happened – and where the survivors are hiding.

The characters you meet throughout the game are all bound by one thing – the will to survive. How they choose to do this can mean life or death for Lee. As the game’s story takes place in the same world as the original comic books, characters from the comics will appear in the game to show a different perspective on their struggle to survive – like Hershal, the paranoid farmer unwilling to face the horrors of this new reality and who’ll do anything to protect his family. How you choose to interact with each person can potentially set Lee on a new path.

Think fast to survive

As you begin your game, you’ll be asked to choose how you prefer to control Lee and the interactions he has within the world. Device control lets you use the dual analog sticks and button controls to search the zombie-ravaged environments, pick up items, speak with other characters or defend yourself from the Walkers. Choosing touch controls allows you to directly control Lee’s story by tapping the game world via the PS Vita touchscreen.

Throughout the game, you’ll face a series of life or death, kill-or-be-killed decisions. As you interact with characters that Lee meets, you can choose different ways of talking to them. The responses that you give to their questions, or how you react to the scenarios that you’re in will directly influence how the storyline progresses; characters may choose to trust you, to be wary of you – or to be outright hostile.

You’ll only have a short amount of time to decide how to approach each situation, so you’ll need to think fast as one wrong decision could put you and your friends in the path of the Walkers lurking around every corner. By investigating the world around you, you can scavenge items that can be used as weapons against the zombies or other items that could prove vital to Lee’s survival. Most of all, it’s the human interactions and moral choices that you’ll face that will mean the difference between staying alive or joining the horrifying undead who roam the land.